Getting tired of the LeBron James accolades? Well, tough. The guy has been having the most remarkable season by an NBA player since that fellow Jordan retired, and as we embark on another version of Throwin’ Elbows, he’s got to be the lead:

‘Kick him in the shin’

LeBron James and Michael Jordan: The comparisons will never end—and based on James' season, they shouldn't. (AP Photo)

Over a handful of games, the run that Miami Heat star LeBron James is on would be impressive enough. But the fact that James has been able to keep the statistical steamroller he’s been driving on track for an entire month is a stunner.

With Tuesday’s 40-point, 14-for-23 shredding of the Sacramento Kings, James played his final game of February—his 13th of the month—and finished every game he played with a shooting percentage over 50 percent.

The last time James shot below 50 percent was Jan. 27 in Boston, and even then he wasn’t all that bad, going 14-for-31 (45 percent).

Over the course of the Heat’s 12-game winning streak, James’ efficiency has defied logic—he is shooting 65 percent, making 130-of-200 shots. If you’re an opponent, well, what are you supposed to do?

“Kick him in the shin or something,” is how one Eastern Conference scout put it. “I don’t know, there is no defense for him. There were times when you could put him into certain spots on the floor and he wouldn’t hurt you so much. You can’t take away everything of course, so the idea has always been to give him the midrange, give him the perimeter. He’s killing you on the perimeter now, though. So what do you do? I don’t think there’s an answer.”

Indeed, a look at James’ shot chart shows just how much he has improved this year, even over last season’s MVP performance.

The most obvious improvement has come on the deep ball, where James is shooting 41.1 percent from beyond the 3-point line. That’s 21st in the league, and a significant jump over last year, when he made 32.5 percent of his 3s. In his career, James’ best 3-point performance was in 2005, when he shot 35.1 percent—he had never been anything more than a little better than average.

But it’s not just the 3-pointer that accounts for James’ improvement. Breaking down his 2-point shooting into shots at the rim, shots from 3-10 feet, shots from 10-16 feet and shots from 16 feet to the 3-point line, James is having a career year.

The only category in which he is not averaging a career high is 10-16 feet, where he is shooting a respectable 41.9 percent. At the rim, James has been incredibly efficient, shooting 78.9 percent. His improvement from 3-10 feet—from 46.5 percent last year to 52.3 percent this year—is an indication of his burgeoning post game. From 16 feet and out, he is making 44.4 percent after having made 37.2 percent last year.

It used to be that you could live with James taking midrange and perimeter shots. Lately, though, those are just as deadly.

Philly frustration

In three years as the Philadelphia 76ers coach, Doug Collins has done a credible job with a young team, earning two playoff berths and even reaching the second round last season. But as the Sixers crumble and fall away from the Eastern Conference playoff race, Collins is obviously feeling some pressure.

On Tuesday, the team lost its sixth straight, falling at home to the Orlando Magic, the second-worst team in the league. The final count was 98-84, but the Sixers trailed by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter.

It was a lifeless effort, and in his postgame press conference, Collins seemed all too eager to wash his hands of his team’s performance lately.

“If everybody looked inside themselves as much as I did, this world would be a CAT scan,” Collins said. “OK? Believe me, there’s not two days go by that I don’t go to (team president) Rod (Thorn), I don’t go to (GM) Tony (DiLeo), ‘What can I do? Can I do anything different? How can I be a better coach? How can I be a better leader? How can I help these guys?’

“Sometimes, you’ve got to help yourself, you know? Sometimes you’ve got to help yourself. Youth is a very blaming thing. My job is to not put that kind of product on the floor. I’m incredibly hard on myself. I love it when the fans start yelling at me. I’m not playing. You didn’t yell at me when I played. Why are you yelling at me when I’m coaching?”

Collins could be feeling some pressure with the Sixers. New owner Josh Harris and CEO Adam Aron kept Collins on when the franchise changed hands in 2011 and have expressed confidence in him, granting a contract extension before this season.

Considering that the Sixers’ season has been torpedoed by the absence of center Andrew Bynum, there is only so much blame that Collins should have to take.

Still, with or without Bynum, the rest of the Sixers obviously are not giving much effort for Collins. With Collins heading into the final year of his deal next season, another extension is unlikely.

“Obviously, we want to make the playoffs,” Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin said. “But that (Lakers) team has a lot of talent and needed time to develop chemistry. We’re just focused on playing well ourselves, but now of course you have to be aware of them.”

Even the Golden State Warriors, who until recently seemed easily assured of their spot in the playoffs, have their eyes on the Lakers.

“I don’t think we or anyone can count them out, not with the players they have,” forward David Lee said. “Until they are mathematically eliminated, I am not counting them out.”